Blood Lust
by melissakay
Summary: Penn meets his match when he and Angelus into the Slayer in 17th century London. Slashfic involving Penn (Jeremy Renner) and an original character I created.


**Blood Lust**

_A slash fic about two vamps, and a Slayer with a difference…_

_Starring: Angelus and his prodigy, Penn (played by Jeremy Renner) and the Slayer in the 17__th__century, Jules. _

_Disclaimer: I don't own Angelus or Penn, they're the property of Joss Whedon and co., but Jules is a creation of my own. _

The streets are my home. I walk them, safe in my disguise, and no man recognises me for what I am, or what I once was. A bar wench, in another time, another place. Lusty as they come. But then the man arrived and told me of my destiny.

'You and you alone must fight the vampires', he said. As you can imagine, I was a little sceptical. 'Vampires,' I told him, 'are the creation of writers like Bram Stoker. They don't exist.' Boy was I wrong!

He taught me to fight, this strange man who seemed to appear out of nowhere, looking like a Notary in his tweed suit and wire-rim glasses. He called himself Phineas. I called him Boss. He pretended to hate it, but I think he was secretly pleased. It wasn't long before I graduated from kicking the stuffing out of punching bags with drawn-on fangs, to kicking the real deal. I took to dressing like a man, cutting my long dark hair short and wearing trousers and a work shirt with boots – far handier for fighting in than crinoline, pantyhose and a corset, let me tell you! I also shortened my name from Juliet to Jules – 'after Jules Verne' I'd tell anyone who bothered to ask. That was the one bone of contention between me and my Watcher. 'You read entirely too much,' he once said. 'Your head is always in the clouds. One day you'll be too distracted, and a vamp will use that to get the upper hand.'

Well, so far, so good. I'm still alive…

One day Phineas got word of a new player in town. A vampire named Angelus had arrived, eager young prodigy in tow, and I was to find out where their nest was. Angelus had quite the reputation for cruelty, and from what I'd heard, his ward was every bit as bad and dangerous to know. They had already cut a swathe across Dublin, parts of Scotland and the South of France. Now they'd come to London, finally – my home turf. Newspaper boys hollered about killings in the streets and the articles themselves spoke of bloodless corpses with crucifixes carved into their faces. They called him the 'Crucifix Killer,' a stupid and ambiguous name if I'd ever heard one. How does one kill a crucifix?! Besides, I knew it wasn't the work of just one man. If in fact you can call a vampire a man. The arrival of these exotic creatures at the same time as the emergence of the killer who was making London's streets even scarier than usual was far too neat to be a coincidence.

I decided one night to head out and do some reconnaissance. A lot of the bodies were being found in the East End, around Flower and Dean Streets, and the commercial district. The area was crawling with whores and drunkards, thieves and gangsters, and they all tended to frequent one bar in particular – The Ten Bells. I suited up in my usual garb and headed off for the Ten Bells. I knew the bartender there, slightly and thought he might have some knowledge of where the two newest faces in town might have found a doss. As it turns out, I was in luck. Jim had not only seen the two men I was looking for, he'd recommended a doss house down the road, in Mitre Square, that might suit their needs.

I thanked Jim, emptied my glass of whisky with a grimace (the stuff was like drinking axel grease) and set off for Mitre Square, ducking as a whore threw a bottle of wine across the footpath at a man who might have been her pimp, narrowly missing my head in the process. I walked on, a little shaken, but thankful for my Slayer's reflexes!

Mitre Square was a dark, dingy place full of flop-houses, or doss houses, or whatever you'd like to call them; places where the creatures of the night go when they've got no place else. The alleys stunk of cat piss, rubbish and stale sweat. Homeless people crowded the doorways, using newspapers and other debris as blankets. I ignored them as best as I could. I barely had two shillings to rub together, myself, and I certainly wasn't about to give the little I did have to one of these characters, only for them to turn around and spend it at the first pub they came to!

Finally I reached the doss house Jim spoke of. I spoke to the landlady, asking her if she had any empty rooms. She shook her head.

'I'm sorry,' she said. 'I just gave me last room to these two rather swanky gentlemen. Come from Paris, they did! Well, just a stopover.' She looked impressed, regardless. 'They were well-travelled, those two. And _very_ charming! Beats me why they'd want to stay 'ere.'

'Okay, thanks' I said. She faffed on about how the older one was so dashing with his long dark hair and his exotic Irish accent (exotic?!) until I could barely stand it any more, and took my leave. Around the back of the building, I climbed the fire escape and glanced through the cracks in the blinds at each window until I found the one I was looking for.

Oh yes, it was them. And they were partying on in fine style. Two women sat on the love seats beside each of them, laughing away at some joke Angelus was telling, and kicking their pretty little ornate fans into high gear as Angelus and Penn flattered them and plied the silly women with alcohol. Their victims were none the wiser, downing snifter after snifter of brandy until they became quite woozy.

And suddenly, the mood changed. Angelus took the lead, kissing the brunette on the neck. She laughed and blushed, and tried to push him away, but only half-heartedly. He kept kissing her, down her throat to her décolletage, which was on show with one of those corsets everyone's wearing nowadays. A hand disappeared amongst her voluminous, emerald green skirts. She giggled again but didn't push him away, this time. She seemed to be enjoying herself, now.

The younger one, a pretty boy with dark blonde hair and an intense, ice blue gaze, followed Angelus's example, taking the redhead beside him in an amorous embrace. He rained kisses on her snowy white throat and fondled her breast with one hand while snaking the other under the folds of her skirt. She closed her eyes and was soon sighing away in ecstasy. I have to admit, watching this go on was a little… confronting.

I found myself feeling stranger than I'd had in a while – warm and somewhat light-headed. I grasped the iron rail of the fire escape to keep myself from falling backward in my… I'm not sure what you'd call my state of mind right then, but it certainly wasn't fixed on fighting to the death!

Then the brunette let out a blood-curdling scream. The almost hypnotic gaze I'd held on the steamy tableau was broken in an instant. I looked over at Angelus, who was drinking from the brunette's jugular.

A trickle of dark blood ran from the wound, and disappeared between the mounds of her breasts. She gave up fighting and slumped beneath him. A few seconds later he stopped, looked up and wiped his mouth with his blousy white sleeve.

'Your turn,' he told Penn. The other girl stared at Penn in horror. I couldn't see it from my vantage point, but I knew from experience that his face had changed - his smooth forehead was now bumpy; eyebrows severely arched, and his eyes more slanted, like a cat's. Fangs would most definitely be visible from between his perfectly shaped lips. It was a face well-known to my kind, but to a mere mortal, simply horrifying, right out of their worst nightmares.

I had to do something, but I didn't know what. All I'd brought with me was my trusty bag of stakes, and a large hunting knife, which I had stuffed in my boot. And there was a pane of glass between me and the vampires. Unless I smashed it and risked cutting myself - a red rag to not one but _two _bulls, in this case – I couldn't get in there in time to stop them from killing the other girl. I'd have to create a diversion.

Penn lunged. The girl dived out of the way. I found myself silently applauding her quick thinking. He recovered and grabbed her by the arm as she tried desperately to escape the fate her friend had just met. Swinging her around, Penn slammed a fist into her right cheek.

Wow, I thought. Nice left hook! Shaking my head to rid myself of my propensity to go straight into battle tactics whenever I saw a fight happen in front of me, I knocked on the glass without a second thought. Angelus spotted me and gave a deep, guttural growl. I waved cheekily, blew them a kiss and tore down the steps to the landing below as fast as my legs would take me. I didn't know if they were following me, I just knew I had to get out of there, and hopefully lead them some place we could fight in private. The rest of the world being completely ignorant about the existence of vampires, I think there would be a major outcry - or panic, at the very least - if they found out the dark, brooding boogeymen of their bedtime stories were real. Something akin to all the Catholics in the world finding out there's no God. As I ran, my brain remembered a place from few months ago, when Phineas and I had happened upon a coven of witches celebrating a Sabbat. It was on the fringes of the city, in an abandoned building that used to be a commercial greenhouse, from the smell of the place. Perfect for a nice, private fight to the death, whether mine or theirs! I rather hoped it would be the latter, of course, but since I was relatively new to this, compared with Angelus, at least, it would no doubt end in my death – and the summoning of the next Slayer.

I heard footfalls behind me in the alley, two pairs of boots on the cobblestones, so I knew I'd succeeded in drawing them out. I hoped the redhead was okay, that Penn hadn't stopped to kill her before following me. It didn't appear likely, though. He'd never have caught up if he'd stayed behind to feed.

Which meant one thing – he was still hungry. Lucky for the redhead; not so lucky for little old me!

Darting into the first doorway of the greenhouse, I ducked down so that they wouldn't see me through the murky, grime-covered windows that lined the place from shoulder height upwards. Pulling a stake out of my bag, I strained my ears to listen for footsteps. There was nothing. Had I lost them? That wasn't the plan. They _had_ to follow me, or Penn would find another victim. I couldn't have that on my conscience.

Ah, finally… I could hear Angelus bark orders at Penn. 'Well, find him!' he snarled. 'He knows about us, whoever he is. He's got to die. And you, my young friend, _you_ can be the one to do it.'

'I'll rip him limb from limb,' Penn promised, with a level of gusto that was nothing short of disturbing.

'No mess,' Angelus reminded him. 'We don't do mess. The more mess, the more the cops have got to work with. You're so eager to go off and slash and burn. But that's the young in you. You'll learn. You'll see that the better way for our kind is the quick, clean kill.'

'No fun,' Penn complained. 'I like to take my time.'

'I do too, sometimes.' The voices were getting closer. 'When I killed my parents I did it nice and slow. But you have to pick and choose your victims, your circumstances…' He stopped talking, and the footsteps ground to a halt.

'He's here,' Angelus said. 'I can smell his blood. Can you smell it?'

'Yes,' said Penn, sounding excited. 'And I can hear a heartbeat! His heart is racing. He's scared.'

Scared, yes, I thought. I'll give you that. But also; strangely exhilarated. There was something to be said for slaying. It got the blood up. And sometimes, after killing two or three, you're so pumped, you have to find a way to wind down or you'll continue to bash and crash until somewhere along the line, an innocent bystander gets in the way. It's happened before. Never to me, but there's always a first time. I usually manage to find my way to a bar and a bottle of Scotch and oblivion for the next twelve hours. Others haven't been so lucky in the past, according to Phineas.

I gulped, closed my eyes and tightened my grip on the stake. Contrary to the rush that comes in the aftermath there's always the stomach-churning fear of the unknown that hits you before a fight. What if the vamp's a better fighter? Stronger, or more agile? What if they overpower you? I'd heard things about this Angelus, of course. Heard things, and read things. Penn was the unknown quantity. As a rule I prefer the devil I know to the one I don't. Not this time. This time, what I knew of Angelus made me glad he'd chosen to let Penn take me on. The older vampire is a cruel, sick bastard who gets his kicks from mentally and physically torturing his victims for fun before he kills them. Like pulling the wings off flies, times ten. Yes, I was quite prepared to deal with Penn over Angelus!

As the first vampire stepped through the door, I thrust my stake out into the abyss, but it didn't connect, and suddenly I was face to face with Angelus's prodigy. The moon and streetlight outside gave just enough illumination for me to be able to see that he'd morphed back into the good-looking kid I saw in the doss house. Wide set blue eyes with the longest lashes I'd ever seen on a boy looked me up and down. His lips curled in a sexy smirk.

'Well now,' he said, 'What do we have here?' A hand shot out and grabbed my wrist, squeezing it so tightly that I had to let go of the stake. He pushed me against the window and moved in, deflecting the blows from my right arm so cleverly that I had to admit to myself that I had underestimated this one. He might be young, as far as vampires go, but he was quick, and smart, too. He caught my other arm and pinned me like a rat on a dissecting board, limbs spread and neck exposed like a prime cutlet at the butcher's. His eyes gleamed but he didn't return to his demon state.

'You're not a boy,' he stated. 'Are you? Come on, don't lie. I can tell. You know how I know?'

'No but I feel sure you're gonna tell me,' I replied, relieved that my voice sounded steady and tremor-free.

'This,' he said, suddenly, letting go of my wrist and grabbing at my chest. 'They're smallish, but they're there,' he said, with a chuckle. 'Just a handful. Nice.'

His thumb grazed my nipple through the fabric of my shirt. I bit my lip, hard. If he was looking to get a rise out of me, I was determined to keep my cool. It was hard, though, the way he was touching me. Not to mention the way he was _looking_ at me. I had to remind myself that this was a _vampire_, not some Rent Boy I'd paid for and taken back to my room. As pretty as he was – and _damn_, was he pretty – he was a _killer._

'You like this, don't you?' He tilted his head to the side, and examined me as if I were some kind of exotic animal he'd never seen before. His fingers deftly unfastened my shirt buttons and slipped a hand inside. Now the stiff linen wasn't in the way, I could feel how cold his hands were. But instead of repulsing me, the icy touch made shivers of a different kind run up and down my spine. My breathing hitched. I gulped and tried desperately to think of something sarcastic to say. Something suitably Jules-like. I'm usually quick with the one-liners but faced with death or whatever the hell this was shaping up to be, my mind had drawn a complete blank.

'Why do you dress like a boy?' he asked, his fingertips brushing my skin and raising goosebumps. 'Not that I'm complaining – it's hard enough to get into those dresses women are wearing nowadays, with all the layers underneath. I much prefer this. It's not very pretty, but it's easy access.' He cupped a breast and squeezed, gently. I tried to keep a poker face; tried to look unmoved but it was getting harder by the second. The chill of his skin against the warmth of mine was like an electric current going through me. It hurt, but in a really, _really_ good way! Plus those eyes of his were fixing to put me in a trance. I'd heard that some vampires could read minds or control the minds of humans but this was far more subtle. He wasn't trying to send me any telepathic message. At least, not yet. It was just that, once I looked into those eyes, I couldn't look away. Or didn't want to.

'Penn, what the hell are you doing?' Angelus's Irish lilt cut through my confusion. 'Haven't you killed him yet?'

'Oh, but it's not a _he_, Angelus,' Penn informed him. 'It's a _she_. And I think… it's the Slayer.'

Angelus stepped out the darkness. 'Oh, and what makes you think that?'

'The bag of stakes might be a clue,' Penn replied, drolly. 'Unless she's planning on building a miniature fence with those things.'

My bag of stakes was still hanging from my left arm. It occurred to me then, as the haze lifted, that I could have fought back. He only held me by one arm when he'd first discovered that I was a girl; and then none, when he'd unfastened my shirt buttons. I could have used that window to clobber him – so why didn't I?! Why had I stood there like one of Queen Victoria's guards, motionless, and let him grope me like that? I was The Slayer, for Christ's sake! What was wrong with me?! Was I so lonely that the touch of a _vampire _was preferable to a sexless existence?

'Right you are,' said Angelus. 'So kill her, and get it over with.'

'I don't know,' said Penn. 'I kind of want to play with her, first.'

Angelus sighed. 'It's the _Slayer_. You think she's going to just let you bat her around like a cat playing with a mouse? She'll take her opportunity, and she'll kill you.'

'He's right,' I said, finding my voice. 'I probably will.'

'I don't plan on "batting her around", said Penn, with a small smile that made a dimple appear in his smooth, youthful cheek. 'Unless she wants me to! Tell me, Slayer… Are you into the rough stuff?'

'Hell yeah,' I heard myself say. 'The rougher, the better.'

'Good-o' said Penn, and swung an arm in my direction. Luckily I saw that one coming and managed to block it, slamming my other fist into his solar plexus. Fortunately for him, vampires don't breathe, but it did put him off balance. He backed up a few steps until he regained his footing, and lunged toward me. Then it was on – the fight I'd come for. My hand dived into the bag of stakes but it was snatched away before I could get a grip on any of my weapons. Penn threw the bag aside and leered. I realised from where he was staring that my shirt was still open and started to do up the buttons, but he used that moment of distraction and dived onto me. We crashed into the wall, but I didn't feel it. He was raining blows on my face and I tried desperately to block them but he was too fast. I knew I was in for some pain the next day – if I survived that long – and tasted blood in my mouth. Spitting a tooth at his face, I used that sliver of a second of shock to knee him where it hurts men the most. His face changed then – becoming the creature I was used to seeing, and killing. I fought him off and lunged for the bag of stakes, but his foot came crashing down on my wrist. I howled in pain. He reached down and hauled me up by the armpit, thankfully releasing my wrist rather than 'tearing me limb from limb' like he'd promised, earlier.

My Slayer powers include the suppression of pain of course, helpful in any fight, but it only works to an extent. I think the bastard broke my wrist, good and proper. I nursed it against my chest as he pulled me to him, creating a barrier between us. A barrier I was thankful for at that point, because he still had his vampire face on. Meaning the only thing on his mind was killing me, not seducing me.

'I've heard that Slayer's blood is different to normal blood,' he was saying. 'Better. Never thought I'd get the chance to test that theory.'

I pushed at his chest with my good arm but he was far too powerful. His lips closed around the skin just below my right ear. It was very intimate, and I finally understood how the damsels in the novel about Dracula could swoon under those circumstances. My vein, taking blood back to my heart, was right beneath his swirling tongue. He sucked my skin into his mouth, and I felt his fangs scrape my neck slightly. What was he doing, giving me a hickey?! His arms tightened around me like a vice. I tried to resist but it was useless. I gave in to the sharp agony of his fangs sinking into my neck, of my life force spiling into his mouth. It only hurt for a second or two, and then it was… almost indescribable. Like a peace had washed over me. I didn't care any more. Nothing mattered.

My knees gave way but he held me up, seemingly unable to let go even though surely, my pulse was slowing down. I knew vampires tended to drink the 'first blood' only. Once the heart came to a stop, the blood lost its potency. But mine must have had an extra kick to it, because he held on, as if he _couldn't _stop.

And then he did. 'Angelus,' I heard him say, 'You've _got_ to taste this! It's incredible.'

'So I've heard,' said Angelus. 'But you're skating mighty close to drinking dead blood, Penn. She's spent.'

No I'm not! I thought. I could stand for more of that!

What are you thinking, the voice of reason argued, inside my skull. You _want _him to bite you again? Are you _completely i_nsane?!

Oh God yes, I thought. _Please_. Drain me! The feeling was not unlike the most intense orgasm I'd ever had. Yet instead of being flooded with warmth, I was starting to feel cold. _Really_ cold. In fact, I was shivering so hard by this time, my teeth were chattering inside my head.

'Look, now, see what you've done,' Angelus was saying. 'You've either got to kill her now, or turn her.'

I could see Penn now, struggling with his decision. My vision was spotty, grey clouds were coming in, but I could still make out his vampire face… and then it wasn't. It morphed back into his human face. We sank to the floor, and he held me in his arms. My wrist no longer hurt. Nothing hurt. He cradled me and ran a thumb along my lower lip. I'd forgotten that I'd lost a tooth. I couldn't even taste the blood in my mouth anymore. He sucked my blood off his thumb.

'Yummy,' he said. 'I've got to make me a habit of killing Slayers.'

Oh, so he _was_ going to kill me then. I'd lost all capacity to care.

'So, do it already,' said Angelus, sounding impatient. 'I'm hungry again.'

'You could try some of this.'

'Like I said, she's done. If I drink from her now, I'll make myself sick. And so will you, so quit it, already.'

Penn's cold hand stroked my cheek. 'But I kind of like her. She had spirit. Maybe we _could_ change her. Could you imagine that? A Slayer, becoming a vampire? Has that even happened before?'

'Gee, I don't know. I doubt it,' Angelus replied. 'But I'm guessing she's not going to be too happy with you if you do. We're her mortal enemies, Penn. Or should I say, _immortal_. She spent her life hunting us down and killing us. I don't really fancy being put on an eternal guilt trip. And you _know_ she will. She's a woman, after all.'

Penn's blue eyes became soft, unfocused. Or maybe that was me losing consciousness. He took my cap off and stroked my hair. I closed my eyes and shut the world out, everything but his touch. For a brief moment I thought I'd passed on. The peace was overwhelming. Then a sharp, metallic smell woke me back up again. He was thrusting his wrist beneath my nose.

'Drink' he said. His blood, unable to flow, beaded where he'd pierced his vein. 'Come on.'

I stared up at him. How dare he disturb my calm like that?! I wanted to tell him that I didn't _want _to drink, but he forced the issue, pressing his wrist against my lips. 'Drink; or you'll die.'

Really not something I'm terribly worried about at this point, I thought!

'Come on! You're a Slayer. It'd be a waste if you died! Besides, I really want to find out what a Slayer-vampire hybrid would be like.'

'Curiosity killed the cat,' I murmured.

'Maybe so – I don't really care. _Drink_.'

The stuff was _vile_. I have to just get that out of the way. It was like drinking lukewarm milk with a dash or two of salt. I wanted to vomit it back up but after a while my hunger took over, and the taste faded away. His vein was like a violin string beneath my lips. I played it with my tongue as his blood splashed down my throat. I heard a whimper and realised it was Penn. Glancing up - my mouth still wrapped around his wrist - I noticed that he'd started to look a little peaky. I mean, for a vampire!

'I… I think that's enough,' he slurred. 'Angelus… Is that enough?'

'Probably, but I don't have a clue,' Angelus replied, unhelpfully. 'She is a Slayer, after all. She might need more than you can give her, to effect the Change. You weren't prepared for _that,_ were you?'

'You're not helping.'

'That's because I think you're making a mistake that you're going to regret later on, but what do I know,' said Angelus. 'I'll see you back at the house. Have fun with your new little…Pet.'

'Angelus, wait…'

But the older vampire had already strolled out the greenhouse door, leaving Penn to figure out the logistics behind what he'd set in motion. 'Just a little more,' he said, and now his voice didn't sound mocking or confident. He sounded scared and unsure of himself. 'Just a little bit more. You can do it.'

I sucked another mouthful or two of his blood and was hit with a pain so intense I almost brought the whole damn lot back up. 'This is the start,' I heard him say. 'It's supposed to happen. Just give into it.'

Give into it?! My entire body was wracked with an agony I couldn't describe if I tried. I curled into a ball and let out a mournful wail. My heartbeat pounded in my ears like thunder.

'Ssh,' he said, holding me against his chest and rocking me. 'Sh… Someone will hear us.'

What the hell is happening to me, my mind screamed, even though deep down I knew. I was dying. This was dying, yet still being alive. Your brain is supposed to protect you from this. Suppress your pain, and give you visions of a tunnel with a light at the end of it. There was no light at the end of _my_ tunnel. No angels, no visions of loved ones long passed, come to greet me and show me around heaven. After only a few seconds of this, I was convinced I was in hell.

The first light hurt my eyes. I held an arm up to protect them and hit myself in the face. What the?!

'You'll have to get used to your new reflexes.'

I winced and sat up, looking around, now that my eyes had adjusted to the surroundings. We were no longer in the warehouse, or greenhouse, or whatever it was. We were in Angelus and Penn's room at the doss house. I didn't remember anything about the trip from A to B. Angelus was nowhere to be seen. The two girls had gone, as well. I assumed he'd been busy cleaning up house, getting rid of the bodies, while Penn… sired me.

Sired? Wait… I was sired?!

I got up off the couch and walked over to a side table with a mirror over it, hanging from the wall. Staring straight into it, I saw the room as if I didn't exist. He'd done it. He'd made a vampire from a Slayer. Hurray for him.

I turned to him. He was sitting on the other couch, watching me with detached interest, like the way a scientist watches a rat run a maze for a feeder pellet. His collar-length, longish hair no longer looked a dull light brown. It was honey-coloured, with golden highlights. His blue eyes were like sapphires. My own, preternatural eyes were seeing things in bold, bright colour, as if someone had lifted a veil on the world and I was now witnessing it as it truly was.

'It's amazing, isn't it,' said Penn. 'Everything's so much brighter; vivid. But it's not just your eyesight than improves. Your hearing will be better. You'll be able to eavesdrop on a whispered conversation in the next room. Your sense of smell will be heightened – especially toward blood. And _touch_... You have no idea.' He chuckled, and shook his head. 'You think sex is great as a human. You only know the _half_ of it.'

'Really?' I replied. 'Wait – weren't you a Puritan? At least, that's what the newspapers are saying. Aren't Puritans supposed to hate sex, or fear it, or something?'

'Oh, you mean the crucifixes?' He laughed. 'The ones I carve into my victim's cheek? It's all just window dressing. I guess, as a human, I was… well, _semi_-religious.'

'Semi? Wasn't your father a pretty devout man?'

He nodded, looking impressed. 'You've done your homework. Well, yes, I was brought up in a God-fearing household. My father was… fervent; and very strict. He was the Puritan, not me.'

'Was?'

The corner of his lips turned up. 'I killed him. I killed my entire family, actually.'

'How very original of you,' I quipped. 'Angelus did it, first.'

'It was his idea,' Penn admitted. 'But I have to admit, it _was_ fun.'

'So now you're just a soul-less demon like the rest of them.'

'Like you,' Penn pointed out. 'You're one of us, now.'

'Yeah,' I said. 'Thanks for that, by the way.'

He didn't seem to pick up on the sarcasm, or if he did, he wasn't bothered by it. 'Hey, you make a great vampire. You should see yourself. It's positively striking.'

'Well, gee, I wish I could, but there's this little problem where I can't see myself in a mirror anymore,' I reminded him. 'Does that ever get to you? Not having a reflection? How do you know if you've got something between your teeth? Or if your hair's a mess?'

'We tell each other,' Penn explained. 'It's a courtesy most humans don't seem to have picked up on. They're quite content to let their fellow man – or woman – look foolish so that _they _look better. There's no telling how many times I've watched a human snigger because someone's fly was unbuttoned in public, and nobody told him.'

He had a point. 'That's… well, you learn something new every day,' I said, still not willing to admit that humans weren't exactly the noble species everyone made them out to be. Certainly not that they were inferior to vampires, in any way!

'That, you do,' he said, getting up from the couch. 'And you're going to learn something else, soon enough.'

'What's that?'

He walked over to me, reached out and touched my cheek. I found it interesting that his hand was no longer cold. Though I suppose it made sense – our body temperatures were now equally low.

'You'll learn how to feed,' he said. 'You're going to need it, and soon. The blood I gave you won't last long. It would have been used up in bringing on the Change.'

I gulped. 'So… I have to feed on a person. There's no other choice?'

He nodded. 'You still have your Slayer's morality, I see.'

'That's not from having been a Slayer,' I told him. 'It's from having been a human.'

'That'll go away eventually,' Penn promised. 'Are you hungry yet?'

'Getting there,' I admitted. 'Can I feed on you again?'

'Vampire's blood won't do anything. It doesn't give life. You need a human's… Or if you can't manage that, an animal's.' He made a face. 'But that's disgusting, believe me.'

'Nice to see you have standards.'

He shrugged. 'I'm just telling it like it is. You'll see. But if you'd rather drink dishwater than wine, go ahead.'

'I'm _sure_ blood tastes like wine,' I scoffed, remembering the taste all too well.

'Vampire's blood doesn't. Human blood does,' Penn corrected. 'There's a big difference.'

I'm not sure if it was my former humanity knocking on the door, but I wasn't exactly champing at the bit to see if he was telling the truth. There was something else he'd mentioned that I was _far_ more interested in finding the truth about!

'So, this sex thing,' I said, putting a hand on his shoulder and letting it inch downward to the first button on his vest, 'Is it _really_ so much better for vampires?'

He grinned. 'I _knew_ I wasn't going to regret turning you.'

I glanced toward the door. 'Is Angelus likely to come back soon?'

He tilted his head, 'What… are you shy?'

'I'm not used to having an audience, that's all,' I said, defensively. 'I suppose you people do things differently.'

'Well, we're not all a bunch of extroverts,' Penn admitted. 'If that's what you mean. And we're _your _people, now.' The hand that had stroked my cheek wound its way into the hair on the back of my head, and grabbed a fistful. 'So the superiority complex has _got_ to go.'

He pulled my head back and planted his lips on mine. I didn't struggle. I tasted my blood on his tongue, and he was right. Human blood _did_ have a fruity bouquet to it. I could get used to this. I sucked his tongue into my mouth, and let my fingers do the walking, unbuttoning that pesky vest and then his shirt. The great thing about being a vampire, I learned right away, was that you don't have to break away from a kiss in order to breathe. I could have kept this up all night… or day, or into the next week!

He slid his arms around me and lifted me up, one hand on my rear. This would have been incredibly awkward had I been wearing the typical women's fashion of the day. So I was glad, and not for the first time, that I'd taken to dressing like a boy. I wound my legs around his waist and let him carry me into the adjoining bedroom. He lowered me onto the bed and hovered over me, kissing his way down my neck as he resumed the job of undressing me that he'd begun in the greenhouse. I pushed his shirt and vest back over his shoulders and he shrugged them off, impatiently.

He had a very developed body for a boy of nineteen, which was how old he'd been when he was turned. His shoulders, chest and especially his arms, were clearly defined beneath his smooth, pale skin. There was a small patch of sparse hair on his chest, marking him as a man, although just barely. His face was that of a boy, with those big, pretty eyes, perfect lips and flawless skin. I reached out and curled my hand around the nape of his neck. It was my turn to force the issue!

'Come here,' I whispered, lowering his lips to mine and kissing him with an urgency even I didn't expect. He sank onto me, bracing himself with his elbows. He was right – our senses _were_ heightened. It was as if the nerves beneath my skin had been truly awakened, and yet it made no sense. I was dead, wasn't I? Why would I feel _more_, not less? Not nothing, which was what I _should _feel? Every touch, every slight change in position, was like an event on its own. If the lead up was this good, I could only imagine what it was going to be like when we were joined. I wasn't sure if I could stand the sensory overload, but I was keen to find out!

He slipped a hand between our bodies and unfastened my pants. I did the same and in seconds we lay skin to skin, all the way down. My expression must have been comical, because he chuckled. 'Told you,' he said. 'It's amazing, isn't it?'

I couldn't form words. It was as if my entire body had become one big erogenous zone. It didn't help matters when the hand he'd removed my pants with stole between my legs and started rubbing, slowly, as if he had all the time in the world. And I suppose he did, at that. I closed my eyes and counted down from ten, half expecting to explode any second now. My back arched with the oncoming wave, and he intensified things by choosing to enter me right at that moment. I gasped and wrapped my legs around him again; holding him tight inside me as he began to move, sliding his body against mine with every long, slow thrust. He kissed my lips, my cheek; my earlobe. I responded by biting his shoulder, but he didn't mind. Or if he did, he didn't let on. If this was what sex was like for vampires, it must happen all the time. I was merely trying to keep myself grounded. I honestly thought I was about to start levitating, or something! When the release came, I heard the words 'Oh, God,' escape my lips, even though I'd never been to church in my life. My entire body shook, uncontrollably.

He kissed me then, and I felt him climax inside me. Another benefit of being a vampire – I'd never get pregnant. A sudden sadness came with the realisation, and I pushed him away. 'I need to sleep,' I told him, but it was far from the truth. I turned away from him, toward the wall. I felt the mattress sink, then spring back, and then heard him pulling on his clothes. 'I'll bring you dinner,' he told me. 'Back soon.'

When Penn got back, I was fully dressed and starting to feel the hunger pangs more keenly. My stomach cramped, and I kept seeing red spots in front of my eyes. No matter how much I blinked or shook my head, the spots wouldn't go away. I heard the door open and practically ran into the main room. Penn brought in a young girl who was all of around fifteen. She was staring up at him, adoringly. She barely registered my presence.

'This is my friend,' said Penn. 'She's going to help you get ready. I'll go and get my paints.' As he passed me on the way into the bedroom he whispered, 'She thinks I'm going to paint her, the silly bint. Chow down.'

I approached the girl, awkwardly. She was staring at herself in the mirror, playing with her blonde wavy hair, holding it up on top of her head; then letting it fall over her fragile shoulders. 'Which do you think looks better?' she asked me.

I couldn't take my eyes off her neck. 'Up,' I said. 'It definitely looks better up.'

'You're right,' she decided, turning toward me. 'Do you have something I could tie it up with?'

It took a few seconds for her to realise that I'd been right behind her, in front of the mirror, and yet she hadn't seen me coming. She turned back to the mirror, then back to me, realisation dawning slowly. 'You… Don't have a reflection,' she said. 'How can that be?'

'It's a dodgy mirror,' I told her. 'It doesn't tell you the truth, so don't pay any mind to it.'

She glanced at me out of the corner of one of her hazel eyes, suspiciously. 'I've never heard of a mirror like that before,' she said. 'At least, not outside of a circus.'

'Well, maybe that's where they got it from. The owners of this place, I mean,' I said, making it up as I went along. 'What's your name?'

'Alice,' said the girl. She stood on her tiptoes and tried to look around me. 'Where's your handsome friend gone? I _like_ him. He told me I was pretty.'

'You are,' I told her. 'I suspect that's why he wants to paint you.'

'Do you think…' she started to say, and blushed. I could hear her heartbeat in my ears. 'Do you think he wants to paint me in my clothes, or…' Alice giggled. 'Nude?'

'Oh, I really have no idea,' I told her. 'But he is something of a lech, so I wouldn't be surprised if he wanted you nude, for this.'

She frowned. 'You're not going to be here the whole time, are you?'

'Why?' I asked her. 'Are you planning on seducing my man?' I truly didn't mean for it to come out that way. The thought of Penn and this girl getting hot and heavy hadn't even occurred to me. But now that I'd opened that particular can of worms, I did feel a strange sense of entitlement. Not jealousy exactly. I didn't want to claw the girl's eyes out. Yet.

'Of course not!' she said, her blush collecting her entire face. 'I don't even know him!'

'But you're prepared to pose, nude, in front of a strange man for however long it takes him to paint a picture of you.' I stated. 'That's hardly the kind of thing you do around a man you don't know. He could take advantage.'

I didn't think it was possible for the girl to get any redder. She, like most girls her age, was wearing an elaborate dress with a corset which thrust her cleavage up somewhere in the vicinity of her chin. She seemed to be having difficulty breathing, and started fanning herself with her delicate hands.

'Wait,' I said. 'I'll fix this.' I circled her and unfastened the criss-cross of ties on the back of her dress, relieving her situation somewhat. 'Better?'

She nodded, breathlessly. 'Thank… you,' she said. 'But if I'm to be nude…'

'I don't think that will be necessary,' I told her. 'He can use his imagination.'

Besides, I thought, if I'm supposed to actually feed on this girl, I'm not going to feel entirely comfortable if she _is_ nude. I don't swing that way, after all!

'Are you sure?' she asked me. She seemed… disappointed. Or maybe relieved, I couldn't really tell.

I didn't get the chance to answer. Penn came back into the room. His eyes questioned me silently. I knew what he was thinking. Why is she still here? Why is she still breathing? Am I actually going to go through with this painting ruse?

'Uh… Mr… We were unsure as to how you wanted me,' said Alice. 'With the… clothes, I mean. On or off?'

Penn grinned, and I could have slapped him. 'Well, that would be entirely up to you, Alice,' he said. 'I don't think…' He blinked. 'I don't think it matters.'

It occurred to me then that after all that had happened between us, he still hadn't bothered to get my name.

'But what about…' Alice turned to me, 'I'm sorry – you didn't tell me your name.'

'Juliet.'

'What about Juliet? What if she…'

She didn't get to finish that sentence. Penn pounced on her, sinking his teeth into the left side of her neck. She pushed and shoved and tried to fight him off, but he was too strong. When he'd had his fill, he looked up. 'Come on,' he said. 'She was meant to be yours. Take her before the blood runs cold.'

His lips were smeared red. I felt the hunger cramps growing stronger, burning inside like acid. Alice's eyes streamed with tears. 'Please don't,' she begged. 'I want to live.'

'Don't talk to me!' I found myself saying. 'Don't look at me!'

'Juliet,' said Penn, '_Feed_.'

I couldn't take it. The urge was too strong. I fell on Alice's neck and drank hungrily, her blood tasting to me like the best wine in the world. I was drunk on it within minutes. She sank to her knees, lifeless, and then face-planted into the ugly brown embroidered rug.

'That's good,' said Penn. 'I'm proud of you.'

I stared down at what I'd done, numb with shock. I'd never taken a human life before, not by accident or on purpose, until now. I didn't think it was possible to feel guilt as a vampire. But then, I wasn't a normal vampire, was I? I'd been the Slayer – an invisible superhero, saving people every night and never getting any credit for it. My respect for human life was finely tuned. I had powers; super strength, pain suppression that allowed me to fight, night after night; accelerated healing, among other things. It made sense that I wouldn't be your average, soulless vampire. But the guilt – I could do without the guilt.

'Juliet?'

I looked up at him. For the first time since he'd first touched me in the greenhouse, I saw him for what he was – a demon. And yet the thought of killing him repelled me.

'You ruined me,' I told him. 'I don't know what I am, now. I'm not a Slayer; I'm not human, and I'm not even a proper vampire. I can't do this…' I gestured at Alice, 'Night after night! I'll end myself before it comes to that.'

'Don't talk that way,' said Penn. 'I _made_ you for me. You have no idea how lonely I've been. We were meant for each other! Can't you see? That's why it was so good!'

'You said it was always that good.'

'I was lying.'

'You weren't alone. You had Angelus.'

'Not in _that_ way, I didn't. It _is_ possible to be surrounded by people and still feel lonely.'

I knew that. It was how I felt every day of my human life. I looked at him again. His face was a picture of misery. 'Don't leave me,' he implored. 'Please. Don't leave me.'

I shook my head, bewilderment setting in. 'You don't even really know me, Penn.'

'We can get to know each other. We've got eternity. Literally.'

'But I can't do this,' I told him. 'I can't kill people.'

'So we'll find another way,' he promised, taking my hands in his. 'You _can_ drink without killing people, you know. You just have to learn restraint.'

I laughed, bitterly. 'And treat people like donors? Who's going to do that, honestly?'

'Believe it or not there are people who actually like being bitten,' Penn told me. 'They take money for it.'

I could believe that. For a short while, it was the best kind of bliss. Not to mention the most erotic thing that had ever happened to me. 'And… these people… you give them money, and they let you bite them?'

'That's right.'

'And drink from them?'

'Yep.'

Suddenly the idea of being a vampire didn't suck quite so badly! Pardon the pun!

'You're not… You're not lying to me?'

Penn took my face in his hands and kissed me softly. 'I wouldn't dare.'

'So… why kill people if you don't have to?'

'Because there aren't enough donors to go around,' Penn explained. 'Oh don't worry, they're easy enough to find. I know where they hang out. But you can't feed from them as much as you'd like to. Once every couple of weeks, at the most. We need more than that.'

'So…' I said, 'When I'm not feeding from a donor, I find some lowlife who deserves to die, and feed from them! I can live with that.' I brightened. London was full of scum – especially the East End. I could exist as a vampire, chowing down on the dregs of society, and keep the streets safe for humans while I was at it. Seemed like a fair resemblance of my old life.

Penn smiled. 'As long as you live, my dear, I don't care how you do it! Well… I don't know if _'live' _is strictly the right word…'

My hunger for blood sated, I advanced on Penn.

He'd forgotten to tell me that one of the quirks of being a vampire was the ravenous libido!

The End


End file.
